Samsung welcomes Huawei to the top tier of mobile with a salvo of lawsuits

When Chinese company Huawei became the third largest smartphone vendor in the world alongside Apple and Samsung, it moved into the top tier of mobile vendors. Now, it’s received the traditional welcome to this exclusive club: a round of patent lawsuits. The Chinese firm started this process itself earlier this year when it filed suit against Samsung for the Korean firm’s use of 11 standard-essential patents owned by Huawei. Now, Samsung is firing back, alleging that Huawei infringed six of Samsung’s own patents, and demanding damages of 161 million Chinese yuan ($24.1 million).

samsung wants to stop huawei selling certain smartphones

As reported by The Wall Street Journal, Samsung’s lawsuit cites a number of Huawei’s tablets and smartphones, including handsets in its Mate and Honor ranges. It also calls on the courts to block Huawei selling or producing a number of these products. In a statement, Samsung said it had ”faithfully negotiated with other patent holders for the fair licensing of technology.” The company added: “Despite our best efforts to resolve this matter amicably, it has regrettably become necessary to take legal action in order to defend our intellectual property.”

This exchange of suits marks Huawei’s increasing confidence and market strength. The company has emerged as the chief rival to Samsung’s Android crown, with research firm Gartner noting that Chinese firm’s market share rose from 5.4 percent to 8.3 percent in the first three months of the year, while Samsung’s dipped slightly from 24.1 percent to 23.2 percent. In a statement given to Bloomberg, Huawei said it had yet to receive the court filings, adding: “We will review any documentation and defend ourselves as appropriate when we do.”